Eternal Thief

After getting the general information about the Sect Alliance City in the Calamity Beast Mountain Range and what kind of power structure and experts it had, Ace thought for a while about how to proceed.

Kai silently waits for Ace to speak again, agitated since he doesn't know how Ace would respond to this information. He is also starting to wonder why Ace wants all this information if he doesn't consider the Five Grand Sects a threat.

Ace finally spoke at this moment, "How do you leave the Sect Alliance City? How many exits are there?"

Kai was startled by this question but still answered, "There is only one entrance and exit in the Sect Alliance City, which is usually closed all year long. However, both entering and leaving the city is quite difficult.

"Only after passing the entrance test can we enter the city, and to leave, a disciple needs to have at least an Outer City Disciple Rank or above. A Nominal City Disciple can't leave until they want to leave the city permanently for good.

"Other than that, sneaking out is almost impossible because the entire city is protected by an extremely powerful formation, and guards patrol the city's boundaries constantly. I've heard that since the city's establishment, no one has ever been able to sneak in or out of the Sect Alliance City. Those who tried all met public execution.

"Do you want to leave the city, my lord?" Kai asked with uncertainty towards the end.

'Leave? Even if I can use my abilities and skills, I don't think it would be possible if they had laid some Ascension Grade Formation in the city. It seems I need to stay in this place for a while, at least until the system is done upgrading.' Ace thought bitterly, but he didn't let it show on his face.

He coolly replied to Kai, "I still need some time to recover my powers before I can leave this place. But even if I want to leave right now, do you think anyone can stop me?"

Ace's voice suddenly became dignified, and despite not having any power or aura behind it, Kai trembled slightly under his icy-cold gaze and didn't dare speak anymore.

Ace was pleased that his bluff worked on Kai and said, "Tell me how you discovered this place, and are there other miners like you out there?"

"I-it was an accident, my lord. I was just doing my job when a hidden passage to this place suddenly opened. As for the others, they should be working on the other side, and no one will be coming here, at least for a while, or if I failed to check in for seven days." Kai quickly replied, thinking that Ace was displeased.

'Well, if he hadn't dug this place up, I would've been in a very bad situation since I might've ended up alerting those Law State experts if I had tried powering my way out of there. Furthermore, these Spirit Stones might be useful to me since those sects have been guarding them for so many years.' Ace mused, and then suddenly, he thought of something and asked Kai.

"You said earlier that Spirit Stones can be used by Law State cultivators since they contain Spirit Qi. Does this mean an elemental state cultivator like you can't use them? Is this the main reason they let you guys freely mine those Spirit Stones without having to worry about you all using them?"

Ace suddenly thought about this point when he thought how these Spirit Stones were above the Grade-9 Qi Stones and should be quite precious. Yet they were letting nominal disciples like Kai mined them without any supervision.

Kai replied with a bitter tone, "You guessed right, my lord. In the Elemental State, we cultivate with Elemental Qi, and some people even call it the Mortal Qi or just Martial Qi and Soul Qi. The treasures of elemental states are divided into nine mortal grades.

"However, a law state cultivator can draw a higher-level Qi into their body called the Spirit Qi. I've heard that Elemental Qi has no effect on a Law State cultivator and is completely useless against them.

"But in contrast, the Spirit Qi is deadly for Elemental State Cultivators like us. Just a faint wisp of Spirit Qi is akin to a deadly poison for us. The same goes for the Spirit Stones; if someone of my level tried to absorb the Spirit Qi in them, we'd die by exploding into meat mush!

"Furthermore, a spirit stone can only be stored in an Ascension Grade Storage Space Treasures, so there are even fewer chances of someone secretly storing them. Those treasures are simply too high above for people like us.

"Lastly, the Spirit Stones can't be mined by mortals or common equipment. To mine them, a cultivator is required to have at least a grade-6 pickaxe, and only then can we scale these mines. Everything is provided by the city, and they control everything meticulously."

Ace's eyes shimmered as a sudden realization dawned on him. This new world was becoming more and more interesting by the minute.

Ace's eyes shimmered as a sudden realization dawned on him. 'Just to use a grade-9 treasure for mining, how lavish. Now I'm even more sure that these Spirit Stones are extremely precious and must-haves for a Law State cultivator. I should find one and analyze it in person. Maybe I might discover something unexpected. I wonder if my thief's space can store these Spirit Stones…'

Ace had already started making his thievish plans despite just waking up in this new place. It had become a habit without him even realizing it. Ace then looked above Kai's head and focused his eyes.

Thereafter, magically, a small black translucent panel appeared over Kai's head. This panel was just a small rectangle, and golden words were written on it: [Thief Point Meter: 0 Thief Point Available].

'Well, he's poor alright. Nonetheless, the thief point meter of the Thief Point Predator title is still working, which means my other titles are still in effect…'

After confirming this, Ace spoke to Kai again, who was feeling uneasy under Ace's piercing gaze, "Alright, I'm satisfied for now; tell me, what kind of reward do you want?"

Kai's uneasiness instantly vanished when he heard those words he had been waiting for, and he knew his chance had finally arrived.

He had decided on what to ask for Ace ever since Ace had offered him a reward, so he respectfully prostrated in front of Ace, "My lord, it would be a privilege if you take me as your disciple! I'll be satisfied even if it's just as an in-name disciple!"