Eternal Thief

When Antonio and Sofia arrive at the entrance to the underground secret passage, the Ancestor Giant suddenly appears. But before he could inquire what Antonio was up to, Ace says, "Please make arrangements and find the Crown Prince. I'll be going first."

The ancestor was completely bewildered, and without saying anything more, he left. Sofia didn't find anything strange since Ace used selective words. It was now impossible to tell if he was using a soul art unless someone had a more powerful soul than him.

After dealing with the ancestor, Ace led Sofia towards the cavern. As for the Ancestor, he wasn't too worried about it since he knew once he regained his senses, he'd completely forget about the commands of soul words.

When they reached the gate guarded by the demonic winged tiger, Sofia was startled since it was her first time coming to this place, and she saw an eighth-realm beast guarding the entry passage.

The winged demonic tiger growled at Antonio faintly before making way for him and Sofia unwillingly.

"Heh, he can't do anything to the Imperial Bloodline and only gives way to the Mortal Emperor of the Generation. So, if someone from the Imperial Bloodline tries to enter here without my permission, they will be captured, or if they are outsiders, they will be killed," Ace coolly stated.

This information he got from the real Antonio, who had been tortured by Riana and Eva in this past year. However, they didn't get anything about the Ascension Temple since whenever he tried to talk about it, his soul suddenly started to undergo a strange chaotic turbulence which almost killed him many times.

Still, he gave quite secret information about the Heavenly Mortal Emperor. Ace is surprised when he finds out that Antonio doesn't even know about the Heavenly Mortal Emperor, for they call him the Deity of the World, and he has never seen him before.

The deity used dreams to send orders or revolutions, and in his entire life, Antonio had only received one revolution. In the end, even if he could talk about the Ascension Temple, he might not be able to provide any useful information.

Still, Ace didn't completely believe him, but he was no longer useful, so he decided to use him in another way if the need arrived.

Once they crossed the gate, they both appeared in front of the cavern with twelve water channels.

Ace looked at the cavern entrance like a jagged tear in the mountainside and at Sofia, who was also closely observing this place. The next moment, he flipped his hand, and a triangular ancient golden jade appeared in his palm. It was the token of passage.

"Here, this is the token of passage; without it, no one can enter the vicinity of the temple. Since you'll most likely be using it after me, you can use it now under my supervision. This will be good practice for you." Antonio smiled and handed over the token of passage to the baffled Sofia.

Sofia couldn't help but feel moved at this moment because she suddenly thought that Antonio was treating her like a daughter for the first time. He was very considerate, and for someone like her who hadn't received much love from her parents, it was a unique experience.

She took the token from him and clenched it in her hand while looking at Antonio gratefully for giving her such a chance.

"Now drop your blood on it and then use your Qi to activate it. This will form a barrier around us." Ace instructs, according to the system's information, to activate this token.

Sofia nodded and then cut her finger as her blood drop fell on the golden token. The next moment, the tiny runes on it suddenly lit up before turning crimson, and she suddenly felt connected to this token.

She then used her Qi, and a translucent golden barrier suddenly gushed out of the token and engulfed Sofia. She was astounded to feel that she could control this barrier now, and with a thought, she covered Antonio as well.

Ace was ecstatic, but his true expression didn't appear on Antonio's face as he nodded in approval, "You're doing great now. Just maintain this barrier, alright? Let's go."

The next moment, he placed his hand on her shoulder, and they both flew towards the passage where the temple portal was located.

As they entered the passage, it was like a dark tunnel, and the only source of light was the translucent barrier around them. As they went deeper, soon, a faint mist suddenly appeared.

'This mist is made with heavenly Qi, and without this barrier, it would be hard to travel through it,' Ace mused solemnly as he closely observed the fate map.

At this moment, Ace and Sofia stop because an entrance barrier appears in front of them in the tunnel. Sofia looked at Antonio for an explanation.

"Don't worry. As long as we have this barrier around it, we'll be able to pass this barrier," Ace confidently said, but in truth, he put a small distance between himself and Sofia and let her lead.

He knew this was the first forbidden barrier in this place, and if he wanted to pass it, he would have to deal with forbidden runes first. But he wanted to see if this token of passage could help him avoid it.

Sofia still didn't suspect anything and then fearlessly moved towards the barrier and submerged it completely.

After confirming that Sofia was fine, he followed suit, but he still didn't let his guard down and was ready for any unforetold event.

But the token of passage didn't let him down, and with Sofia, he was able to pass through this barrier easily.

However, the other side was something that Ace wasn't expecting at all. They were still in the cavern, but it was completely different from the outside.

A network of water channels snakes through the cavern floor. Some are mere trickles, while others are deep and turbulent, their currents hinting at the vastness of this subterranean network. The water glows in dim light, creating an ethereal, almost dreamlike atmosphere.

With the fate map, Ace confirmed that the seemingly tranquil water channels conceal dangers. With his thief's vision, he saw that under the glowing water, razor-sharp bioluminescent plants lay submerged, and unseen aquatic predators were lurking in the depths.

These creatures were like mutated fish and monstrous eels. Furthermore, Ace could sense faint Heavenly Qi from them—

they were the heavenly beasts!