Eternal Thief

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[Treasure Blueprint Scanning of the Heaven's Stealer Mission Site has been completed!]

[Live Fate Map (Treasure Blueprint Mode) has been activated!]

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Ace has been waiting for this notification without advancing into water channel pathways. This place was extremely strange as he could feel dense Qi in all the passages, yet his thief sense or heavenly sense couldn't scan through them.

Only the compass arrow of the fate map pointed towards a particular pathway, which was the narrowest of them all. Still, Ace decided to wait for the treasure blueprint to finish so he could be certain about the terrain and where the target was hidden!

Furthermore, while waiting for the treasure blueprint to be finished, he contacted all the house members and told them to quickly return to the imperial capital after finishing their mission.

After all, Ace can't start the mission without taking them all with him, or they will be left behind when he finishes the mission and triggers the ascension process.

Right now, Ace was only here to scout the place and pinpoint the target's location. He was especially wary of the Heavenly Mortal Emperor and didn't want to alert this existence, or it would be all over.

Ace opened the live fate map, which no longer required Qi to keep active. He was finally able to see the terrains, formations, and hidden passages of the entire Imperial Palace and this underground maze.

When he moved the map towards the passage where the compass arrow was pointing, he found a golden area with the tag 'Mortal Sky Ascension Temple Portal'!

However, when Ace noticed the security details, his eyes contracted with disbelief. The passage was protected with a Forbidden Heavenly Space Maze Array (Grade-10), a Forbidden Heavenly Sanctify Array (Grade-10), and right where this Mortal Sky Ascension Temple Portal was, there was a Forbidden Heavenly Void Lock Array (Grade-10)!

Ace's heart sank when he quickly asked the system, "System, are you telling me these arrays are not only at the level of the 10th grade, but they are also heavenly arrays, the same one that I got from you?!"

This was Ace's first time encountering such a situation because he had never encountered Heavenly Runes, as he always thought they were exclusive only to him. Yet now, this passage was made with heavenly arrays of grade-10 that even he didn't know!

Ace only has the forbidden runes but not the method for using them, so he doesn't pay much attention to them. He thought he didn't need to waste time on them since he might never need them.

Yet now, he has encountered them, and since they were heavenly, they were without flaws. He knew better than anyone in this world just how terrifying Heavenly Runes were, and they were perfect because they couldn't be broken!

"[The Mortal Sky Ascension Temple is the domain of Mortal Sky Heavenly Will, and because of it, the Mortal Sky Heavenly Emperor can freely use not only Heavenly Qi of Martial and Soul just like host, it can also use Heavenly Runes without any restrains or backlash from the Heaven.]

"[Especially the Forbidden Heavenly Runes. They are 'forbidden' for a reason, and that is even if you know how to use them, you would never be able to draw them or etch them on any treasure; they will be turned into dust by heavenly punishment the very next moment!]

"[This is not just a thievery, but a true test of what you've learned in your journey up until now. Only a Heaven's Stealer is capable of stealing from Heaven!]"

Ace's expression went dark as he hadn't been told this before, especially the part about the Heavenly Mortal Emperor using both Martial and Soul Heavenly Qis, just like himself.

Furthermore, since this Heavenly Mortal Emperor was an ancient existence, he has far, far more experience than Ace in the way of Heavenly Qi, and he won't be surprised if the Heavenly Mortal Emperor had ridiculous skills like him as well or even stronger!

"Do you really expect me to break into this place without alerting the Heavenly Mortal Emperor and then steal under his nose? At least give me something to counter the Heavenly Runes!" Ace stated in exasperation.

His previous confidence was almost gone now after seeing the security and hearing about the prowess of the Heavenly Mortal Emperor.

"[Host is fully equipped with everything to perform this thievery. You also still have over 30 years to finalize your plans since you have already gained knowledge of your target. Remember, host, despite all the power, the Heavenly Mortal Emperor is nothing but a guard dog who can't even breathe without its master order while you are Free!]"

"I get it, but the thing is, Eva will be gone if I don't upgrade you! If there's any way around it, I'm happy to prepare for decades!" Ace berated, as he was tight on time because of Eva.

But he knew blaming the system was not correct since it was his own fault for letting her into that trial without knowing anything.

"[Why does the host think it is a bad thing? If you look at it from another perspective, you are suppressing her growth by stubbornly keeping her with you. She has her own destiny. She even managed to awake the Void Abyssal Devil Bloodline on her own. She can now grow 100 times faster in the abyss.]

"[Moreover, you shouldn't forget her life is connected with yours and if you died because of your lack of preparation, she will be perished anyway.]"

Ace's expression grew darker since those words were extremely painful to hear, and also because this time, he knew this voice was different from the static voice of the system; he hadn't heard it for a long time.

"Aren't you the one who suggested she has to enter the thief's house?" he coldly asked.

"[Thief House can indeed help her grow the same, but you don't have that option right now, do you? The system can only give the host a suggestion. It's your mission and life; you are free to decide!]"

Ace was frustrated, as he didn't want to admit it, but the darn system was right. He should have been happy since that voice was now replying, yet he was annoyed and found it better when he didn't get any response!

"Since you're being generous with your suggestions, how about suggesting something that can at least help with this mission? Oh, and this is not the Ascension Temple, but a portal that leads to it, right?"

"[Indeed, the true Mortal Sky Ascension Temple lies behind this portal. The system would like to give you one last free suggestion: Perfection is Perfection because it can no longer grow or improve in any and all ways, faultless and flawless! If you want to go against perfection, you should make it faulted and flawed; you have the power to do so!]"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ace was startled, but the system started ghosting him again, which made him perplexed.

'To go against perfection, make it faulted and flawed? Does it mean there is a way to make the heavenly runes flawed, and I even have the power to do so? Is it the Lawless Darkness? No, this power can help me be unrestrained, but it can't make the heavenly Qi flawed. In fact, it becomes powerful with heavenly Qi instead. 'Then what… heavenly runes… heavenly Qi…' Ace felt deep in thought as he went through all his skills and techniques. After a long while, he finally reached a conclusion, 'If this is about making something Perfect, flawed, the only method I can think of is by dismantling it!'

Ace's eyes shone when he thought about the principles of the Dismantler. This profession literally means to take apart anything, whether it's perfect or flawed, and it was exclusive to Heaven's Stealer!

'But I'm already at the limit of a Grade-9 with the principles and the gloves. If I want to dismantle Grade-10, I first need to upgrade my gloves to Grade-10, and according to the system, the item upgrade token will not work on them.

'Then how am I supposed to break this limit…' Ace's eyes suddenly widened as he trembled a little. The answer should lie within the Forbidden Heavenly Runes!

The system said that heavenly runes were not allowed within heaven and that anything made with them will be destroyed.

'Then what if my heavenly Qi had the same effect? I don't need to know how to use them; I need to know how to dismantle them!'