Eternal Thief

"[Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants of the Primordial Ascension Path are about to materialize!]"

Before Ace could inquire what the system was babbling about now, something happened.

A cacophony of crackling energy erupted as the seven-colored lightning pillars pulsed and contorted. From the swirling vortex emerged the Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants, their ethereal forms crackling with an otherworldly hum.

Their mournful lamentations echoed through the air, briefly clouding Ace's mind with visions of failure. They whispered doubts into his mind as if they were trying to affect his will, but it was only for a moment as his mind became clear the next moment.

They were 10 meters in size, and seven-colored lightning swirled around their hominoid bodies, which seemed to be made with ethereal mercury. They were all holding different weapons. They were, without any doubt, the Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants that the system had just warned him about.

Ace's expression warped, "Aren't they just like the Heaven's Terminate Manifestations?"

"[No, they are different; they are the warriors who have perished in the Primordial Ascension Path since the beginning of time, and now their fallen wills reside in the path to obstruct the new ascenders who walked on it. It is a test only to let the worthiest people pass it.]

"[But because of Host's heavenly punishment, they are far more powerful and despite the Heaven's Terminate Manifestations can't enter this path, these phantoms of fallen aspirants are not any different, and they could be considered their replacements!]"

"Just great!" Ace cussed as he saw hundreds of phantoms of fallen aspirants pouring out from those pillars. He didn't dare stand still because he didn't want to find out the limit of their numbers.

His eyes flashed with coldness as two ethereal swords, a long and one short, appeared in his hand, and the sword phantom behind him released a hum. Furthermore, those two swords were shimmering with the same rune markings as the phantom behind him, and he could feel terrifying power within them.

'The swords are definitely undergoing some huge change…' Ace was astounded and finally made his move.

Like a bolt of dark lightning, he charged towards the hundreds of phantoms of fallen aspirants. Sensing his advanced status, they all released sharp wails and changed direction toward him, using the skills they were all proficient in before falling.

Ace didn't stop and slashed his swords. Two tendrils of darkness laced with the bite of desolation shot forth, cleaving through the phantoms' desperate attacks with contemptuous ease.

The dark streaks clashed with a myriad of skills, blasted them all into light particles, and continued forward.

Those phantoms of fallen aspirants seemed too shocked, and they used more powerful skills to stop those dark streaks, while Ace performed another dual sword skill he had incorporated into his Eternal Thief Sword Style.

A rain of dark sword lights metalized behind him and poured towards those phantoms of fallen aspirants. Only now did Ace understand just how powerful his swords and sword law were, not to mention that the rule of desolation was even more ridiculous.

Whenever the dark lights rained down upon the phantoms, their mournful wails morphed into screams of agony as they disintegrated. Huge holes were left in the lightning pillars. But he noticed that each of these strikes cost him 10% of his soul and martial Qi!

But he didn't have time to worry about it since he needed to break past this blockade before it became even more cumbersome.

Taking full advantage of their disruption, Ace used his full power to use the Twilight Traverse while the sword phantom behind me kept devouring the seven-color lightning that Ace dodged.

However, he soon realized that it was just the start. As he went further and further, more and more Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants appeared, and he had no choice but to keep using his sword style.

Each strike felt like a bite taken from his very essence. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple as he acknowledged the growing drain on his Qi. If not for the sword phantom continuously providing him with Qi, he would've been long drained.

This time, Ace had to cover around a 3000-meter distance before the lightning pillars changed again, and a silver and golden color was added to the mix, creating nine-color lightning.

Furthermore, fragments of celestial scripture, glowing with an ethereal light, were now scattered throughout the path ahead. These fragments gave the feeling of remnants of past aspirants and contained cryptic knowledge and insights.

But Ace didn't have time to pay attention to those fragments because towering Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants appeared from those pillars. They were 20 meters large and had nine-colored lightning.

Furthermore, the pressure suddenly increased to a ridiculous degree, as Ace now had to use more Qi to endure this pressure while the phantom behind him was completely riddled with rune markings pulsing with seven-color lightning.

Not only that, he noticed that the Phantoms of Fallen Aspirants with seven-color lightning were quickly approaching from behind without any hint of dissipating, making his expression ugly.

'The sword heart is still going on, which is good news, so I would be safe to use it now since those phantoms are far more powerful, and using normal moves would make me waste my Qi.'

His eyes turned deadly cold as he moved his sword, and the next moment, a dark sword symbol suddenly appeared on his glabella.

'Heaven Sundering Sword: Sword of Mortal Heart!'

The dark sword symbol blazed on his glabella, violently shaking the surrounding space. Qi surged through his body, following a peculiar pattern that resonated with the newfound power of his swords. With a final roar, Ace slashed his blades, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.

'Swish…'

A blinding light erupted from his swords, momentarily banishing the chaotic lightning. Within that light, a single rune flickered – it was the rune of his Mortal Heart.

It pulsed with an ethereal glow, imbued with all his defiance, determination, and unwavering spirit—this was the true essence of the Heaven Sundering Sword Secret Technique!

Then, with a deafening boom, the rune shattered, showering the path in a storm of pure willpower.

It ripped through the phantoms, their mournful wails cut short by an awful silence. Even the phantoms with nine-colored lightning, empowered by the heavenly punishment, were utterly annihilated.

The attack then slammed into the lightning pillars. Instead of simply cleaving through them, it carved a gaping maw in the swirling vortex of electricity. The very air crackled with the aftereffects, a testament to the devastating power unleashed.

But this came at a heavy cost. Ace stumbled, his vision swimming. His body trembled with exhaustion, a deep ache resonating in his very core. He felt as if his very life force had been momentarily extinguished.

Yet, despite the debilitating drain, a spark of triumph flickered in his eyes.

"System, release all the EXP and SP I had saved, as well as convert the remaining Qi stones and Soul crystals and the sufficient materials in my thief's space into EXP and SP until I fully recover…"

Ace issued a command, using his last resort, before dragging his drained body forward!