Eternal Thief

Grey's brownish eyes shimmer with annoyance after hearing Finn's still wanted to talk and coldly said, "Speak!" 

"Why do you and the other guard I saw the other day wear that masks despite being Flame Guards? Is it also a slave item?" Finn asked impassively.

Ace knew Grey's mask wasn't a slave item and just make that point, so she could not think how a Qi Gates junior could tell the difference. 

As for why he asked this, it was because he saw only two mask-wearing flame guards and wanted to know the reason behind the masks. If it was something he could use, it would be quite helpful in his mission.

"It is not a slave item!" Grey eyes turn sharp and coldly stated, "Every Female Flame Guard has to wear a mask like this in the flame guard regiment, and we're only allowed to remove it after we achieve the rank of a Flame General!" 

"Only women huh." Ace finds it strange but didn't ask the reason behind it since Grey seemed to become enraged after hearing this question. 

"Then tell me about contribution points." Ace changed the topic and asked about these contribution points.

He could tell these contribution points were quite important by Grey's previous tone, and they even built a separate pavilion for them. 

Grey also didn't want to dwell on that topic and answered promptly, "Contribution points are the currency between the organization members and without them no one can purchase anything from treasure exchanging and medicinal pavilion even if they have the Qi stones.

"One can earn contribution points by exchanging medicinal herbs, pill, treasures, or by completing missions posted in Mission Pavilion." 

"Thank you, it was very helpful." Finn nodded impassively. 

"I'll be taking my leave then." Liz also nodded and turn to leave. 

"Wait." Ace quickly stopped her and said with Finn's emotionless voice, "You don't have to stand outside like some door guard. Elder Lan's appointed you as my guard and I don't know how long I'm going to stay in this city. 

"You can't always stand outside, so choose some servants and a room for yourself. I'll look for you if I needed anything. It's not like I'm going anywhere in this large city alone." 

"Do you think of me as a steward?!" Grey took Finn's words offensively.

"No, don't take my words in the wrong way. I just don't want you to always stand outside, appoint some guards, there should be plenty, right?" Finn coolly stated.

Grey has to admit Finn has a point and, in the end, she coldly glared at Finn and stated, "Hmph! Fine, but I'm only doing it because Elder commands me to listen to you." 

"As long as you don't feel uncomfortable." Finn nodded. 

"Hmph!" Grey sneered and stomped out the place. 

Ace's lips curled upward because he could sense Grey's mood become quite good after what he did, and it was good for him. 

'As long as she drops her guard around me, I'll get that information!' Ace though. 

He knew Grey have important information about that maze, and he required it to theft that treasury. But first, he had to win her trust and make her content around him which he does not know how to do it. 

Nevertheless, he didn't mind trying it!

Now, Ace was finally alone, and he could sense there wasn't any martial sense lingering in the air either, "Let's see the scanning report first." He mumbled to himself, 

He casually summoned the notification panel and open the scanning report of 

Flame City's treasury.

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[Notification Panel]

[{Target's Scan Report}]

[Total net worth: Host has to find himself.

Security: 

1: High-level Middle-Grade Illusionary Formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)

1: High-level Middle-Grade Killer Formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)

1: High-level Middle-Grade Detection Formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)

10: High-level Middle-Grade Traps Formations (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)

1: High-level Middle-Grade, Illusion Lock formation (7th Ranked Mortal Runes)

1: Low-level High-Grade Lock Formation on High-level Middle-Grade Treasury (8th Ranked Mortal Runes & 7-Star Treasury)

Evaluation: 10% chance of success]

======

Ace inhale sharply and grimly thought, 'This is just the security around the treasury and not the other formations in the entire palace!' 

The system scans only work on mission target's treasuries, not on the entire place where the treasury was located or there would be hundreds of formations in this shortlist. 

Nevertheless, this report gave him the exact target he was supposed to steal, and he had only one treasury to steal from this time not any hidden treasury like the last mission. 

However, this treasury was much more difficult to open than the last one, and he still didn't open the treasury inside his thief's space. 

It's not like he can't open it now, he just doesn't want to use the soul-shattering eyes and sustain any soul injuries at a time like this. 

'Now this is out the way, I should breakthrough in the peak heavenly foundation stage.' Ace thought and stood up from his chair and walk towards his chamber. 

After making sure there was no one and Grey seemed to have gone somewhere he used the formation barrier that he stole from that rune crafter and isolate the area, so he would instantly know if someone approached him. 

Ace sat cross-legged before calming his mind and transmitted impassively, "System, convert every pill in my thief's space into EXP!" 

=====

"[Starting the calculating…]"

[All the pills in thief's space can be converted into 16Million EXP]

[Did you want to proceed with the conversion?]

========

Ace pensively transmitted, "Proceed." 

The very next moment thereafter, Ace felt a huge tsunami of Heavenly Qi rose from the dark void and engulf his dark meridian channels. 

Ace abruptly felt something just break, and the dark void rotated while releasing the thick heavenly Qi. The foundation slates revolving around the dark void also glowed brightly. 

The rotation cycles of the heavenly qi began the very next moment inside Ace's meridian channels and the qi circulates ninety-nine times in high speed, yet it didn't show any sign of slowing down. 

At the 100th-cycle, Ace suddenly felt an intense pain start to gush out of his meridian's channels. He could feel the heavenly Qi was causing some kind of change this time and could only endure. 

This painful process remained for 12 hours until the 999 cycle was complete, and the dark void finally absorbed the processed heavenly Qi and turned it into HD-Qi. 

Ace was drenched in the dark sticky matter at this moment and when the HD-Qi entered his meridian, he felt intense comfort and groan in pleasure. 

All that processed HD-Qi enters the nine dark foundation slates after coursing through his dark meridians. Those dark slates begin to rapidly expand! 

When the HD-Qi was fully absorbed, the heavenly foundation plates have expanded nine square miles in size!

Now, they were like colossal dark walls revolving around the dark void in martial space!

======

"[Conversion Complete!]"

[16Million EXP has been added to Host status]

---

[Congratulation host on reaching the Peak Stage of Heavenly Foundation Building]

[Host status has been updated]

======

Ace slowly opened his eyes and a black current flash through them. He was feeling lighter than before while his mind was tranquil. 

With no delay, he looked at the martial cultivation column to see the next amount of EXP he needed to enter the Heavenly River realm besides the elemental orb. 

======

[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Foundation Building {Peak-Stage}]

[EXP: 10.95 Million/100 Million]

{Elemental Orb:0/1}

===== 

Ace's eyes shimmered with astonishment when he saw the next elemental orb's row appearance below the EXP row. 

"System does this mean I can accommodate the EXP without being worried about entering the next realm accidentally, now?" Ace asked while he made a wild guess.

This was an enormous problem for him and if he guessed was right, then he can be worry-free once and for all. Or just like last time that feeling of being instantly killed if he entered the next realm with no elemental orb, always has him on edge.

"[Yes. Since the host has already unlocked the hidden part of Heavenly Crystal Body, the system can now seal the host's cultivation until the host fulfill all the requirements.]"

"Heh, for the first time in a while, you did something useful." Ace grinned ear to ear while taunting the system. 

System's emotionless voice rang again this time, 

===== 

"[Soul Probing 20% Power has been unsealed!]"

[Host can now probe the soul of High Stage Qi Foundation Building Cultivators, and the time limits of soul probing have also increased to four hours a day]

---

[Light Element Qi {Martial & Soul} activation limit has been increased]

[Light Element Qi: The ability to freely use worldly light element Qi of both martial and soul path!] 

[Limitation: Host can only use any type of Qi {Martial or Soul} for 24 hours and has to stop for 24 hours.] 

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Ace was thrilled especially about the Light Qi resting period reduced by half, and now he can use the light soul Qi more often. This means he can practice the rune crafting more frequently now!