Eternal Thief

The dark void can't absorb the soul Qi or anything related to the soul, and Ace didn't put all this hope on the cracked gray boulder either. 

'Soul Barrier!'

Ace quickly activate the first skill of soul guardian barrier art, the soul barrier!

A vast amount of orange soul Qi started to emit from his orange soul core and like a thin translucent film, the orange Soul Qi started to cover Ace's true soul (mind space) and completely shrouded it. This was the soul barrier in low-level mastery, but it can still protect him from Flowing Soul River cultivator soul attacks. 

However, can it protect him from the Heavenly Soul Thunder? Well, he was about to find out. 

The two translucent sword blades landed on the gray boulder first, since it was right above Ace. 

Ace was ready for the worse while holding his breath, he was waiting for the two thunder sword blades to simply pass through the gray boulder and penetrate his head. But to his atonement, the gray boulder manage to hold and even absorbed those two-soul thunderbolts! 

"Just what is this boulder made of?" it shocked Ace to the core this time because till this day he never encountered a soul treasure besides Blood Rose. 

He never imagined something like this even exist that can shield both soul and martial heavenly thunders. It was too good to be true, and he only about one existence that can do the same thing if it wanted to, and that was his System!       

The cloudy vortex spun madly when two of its last attacks didn't even reach Ace, and a large amount of lighting started to condense right in the center. 

Ace quickly snapped out of his stupor when the punishment clouds rumbled madly. He looked toward the boulder and just as he expected it was already full of cracks, clearly reaching its limit. 

'Well, I'm being too greedy here. It already helped me block two strikes, and this was probably going to be the last one.' Ace sighed with regret.

If it was on him, he wanted to mine these kinds of boulders like there was no tomorrow. But he knew it was impossible, and this was probably one of its kind. 

While Ace was lamenting his bad luck, a huge silver, transparent thunder blade slowly penetrated the inky vortex and when it was finally out, it was three hundred-meter in size! 

Ace's expression turned cloudy when he was the huge thunder blade ready to descend on him with all its might. 

"Shi…" 

He didn't even have time to curse as the huge thunder-blade shot toward the volcano's mouth, and the next moment it was already upon the gray boulder! 

The gray boulder quickly started to absorb the silver soul thunder with crazy speed and when the three hundred-meter-thunderbolt was only left twenty or so meters, the gray boulder finally turned into gray dust! 

Ace saw it coming from miles away, but what he never expected was something appearing from inside the gray boulder after it shattered!  <br/><script>ChapterMid();</script>

It was a two-square-foot, space-black slate, but it was too thin to call it slate. 

However, Ace didn't care about this, became this black slate instantly absorbed the remaining soul thunder like it was nothing. 

Ace was bewildered by this while looking at that black, thin slate with shimmering eyes. 

In the sky, the vortex seemed to exhaust all its power and started scattered, a clear starry sky emerged after the punishment clouds mysteriously vanished. 

"Sigh…it's finally over." Ace deeply looked toward the starry sky and sighed in relief. 

Truth be told, it was like a dream because he managed to survive the heavenly punishment too easily this time and all because of that gray boulder or now, thin black slate.   

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[Congratulation Host for successfully crossing the second form of Heavenly Punishment!]

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[Martial Qi Sea creation is commencing!] 

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Ace didn't have the chance to examine the black slate and quickly store it inside the thief's space to check it later. 

He quickly sat cross-legged on the earthen altar while closing his eyes and observing the martial space. He could feel the absorption of earth essence had become more intense after the system's announcement. 

The suppressed emerald mist was finally freed after heavenly punishment was over, and emerald mist from all over the earthen mist forest started to rush toward the volcano's mouth.     

Ace suddenly fell into a trance, and he didn't notice the small black vortex formed on his chest and all that emerald mist began to sink inside the small vortex before entering the dark void. 

After an unknown time, the dark void began to release cloudy dark mist which covered the entire martial space. 

Ace dark foundation slates, which were like nine small islands, started to combine below dark void and form one big isle which covered half and martial space. 

Thereafter, a thick dark-blue chain emerged from the dark void and penetrate the newly formed isle. 

Ace was startled seeing that dark-blue chain, it was his first time seeing anything else releasing from the dark void beside HD-Qi. But what happened next shocked him even more? 

Scripture writing in ancient god language starts liting all-over pitch-black isle. 

"Heaven Stealer Technique! But why is the last part different and why can't I read it?" Ace was flabbergasted by this sudden revelation. No one answer his plight as he silently watched what happened subsequently. 

The moment heaven stealer technique scriptures appeared the isle expand until it touched the edge of martial space, but it didn't stop just there, the martial space began to expand with the isle!

One had to know one martial space never expand or shrink once it was established, but Ace's marital space was expanded until it become double from inside while the outside structure remained the same. 

Even Ace was shocked when he saw the size of martial space, it was like a small continent now. 

Suddenly, the chain connected with the 'continent' hummed slightly, and inky water started to appear on the barren continent while new characters of the heaven stealer technique also began to form all over the continent until they were completely covered by inky water. 

Ace still didn't understand any of those new characters, though. But he knew the system won't tell him even if he asked, so he just remained silent and keep watching. 

The continent finally submerged in inky water which was kept rising until half of the martial space was filled. It finally stopped right when it was about it touched the dark void which was floating right at the center of Ace's martial space. 

The dark blue chain also returned and vanished inside the dark void after the task was done. 

Now, if something saw Ace martial space, they would only see boundless inky water just like a sea. 

Ace's body made cracking sounds the next moment, his bones, muscles, blood vassals, heart, dark meridians…began to refine again and again until they all become more powerful. 

He could feel powerful like never before, while his physical senses improved tremendously. 

Abruptly, Ace felt a foreign, yet familiar feeling like something was forming deep within him, and it would emerge at any moment.     

The very next moment thereafter, Ace abruptly opened his eyes and a foreign dark-lightning twinkled all over his charred body. 

Confused, Ace looked at his hands which were covered in dark lightning, he could feel a too familiar power from this dark lightning.

The system next notification cleared his perplexity, 

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[Nature's Earth Elemental Orb absorption has also been complete.]

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[Congratulation Host on successfully creating the 'Dark Qi Sea']

[Host has reached Stage-1 of Heavenly Dark Sea Realm.]

[Unique Heavenly Element: Dark Despair Lightning]

[Rewards: 500,000 Thief Point]

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[Thief Point(s): 2,773,400]

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"Dark Despair Lightning like White and Silver Despair Thunder?" Ace mumbled when he noticed the resemblance, "Doesn't this mean my element is as strong as heavenly thunder?" 

Ace looked at the dark lightning which was giving off the slightest aura of despair with elation. 

However, the system wasn't done with its announcements yet. 

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[System detected Host martial cultivation sufficient]

[Heavenly Soul Element: 'Wind' has been unsealed] 

[All the restrictions placed on the host's soul cultivation have been removed.]

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[Host status has been updated.]

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Ace suddenly remembered about the sealed soul element and couldn't help but grinned widely when it was finally unlocked. 

"So, my soul element is Wind, huh." Ace nodded in satisfaction. 

"Hey, where is my level-1 authority reward? You better not forget about it!" Ace chuckles jokingly. 

"[Host is currently under a mission please complete it as soon as possible because, without it, the system cannot be upgraded and host level-1 authority reward will also be pending because of it.]"

Ace's smile immediately vanished the moment he heard system 'justification' and his face turned as dark as charcoal, literally!