Eternal Thief

Just as Ace discerned something was amiss and looked toward Shadow; his expression sank because her brown eyelids were narrowed into slits and her black eyeballs were shining with ambiguity behind her mask as she saw Ace's completely fine figure in the red liquid.

She mused with astonishment, 'How can this creature withstand, Level-1 Legendary 'Anti-Treasure Liquid' without losing even a layer of skin?! Did he really infiltrate this deep in the Mighty Demon Continent and even escape four Demon King's Detection?'   

'Legendary' rank was above the mortal ranks of rune crafter, star ranks of crafters, and color ranks of the alchemists, and it had eight levels. All those 'Grade Treasure' in 'system's language' known as 'Legendary Treasures' and there was no ninth-grade either!   

After observing for a while and confirming Ace wasn't seemed to feel any kind of discomfort, Shadow adjust her finger, and with a mysterious power Ace's body retracted from the red liquid. 

Ace smiled bitterly, as he knew he had done something he shouldn't and drawn even more attention to himself, which wasn't a good thing at all. But because his knowledge about the demons was almost non-exist, he can't even make some excuse. 

He really wanted to use his soul probing on Shadow but refrain himself because of system warning and Shadow cultivation was also at the Silver River Core Realm! 

Suddenly, Shadow's melodious yet questionable voice with a hint of expectation entered Ace's ears, "Your body has already entered the Legendary Grade-1, right? How did you achieve it? Where did you get the refinement technique and resources?"     

Even the silent and nonchalant Shadow couldn't help but inquire, with a hint of desire in her sweet voice. 

A demon's body was like a treasure trove, and each demon had a special set of supernatural abilities deeply hidden in their bloodlines. To unlock these 'supernatural abilities' demons used unique techniques called, Body Refinement Techniques. 

There were even some demons who awake a 'supernatural ability on their birth, and they considered the terrifying genius of their race. But this was an extremely rare case, though. 

It was every demon's dream to gain a legendary grade body and inherited a supernatural ability that came with it. 

Cultivation techniques and skill were only secondary to them because if a demon was cultivation in a soul path, and it also had a 'Body Refinement Technique' with resources, that's equivalent to cultivating in both martial and soul path! 

Even though one won't have the martial Qi. But just the powerful body was enough to make up for the soul cultivators' biggest weakness! 

Only a demon body can withstand these 'Body Refinements' and unlock these supernatural abilities. No other race can do, not even those cunning Devils! 

However, the resources needed to refine a body until it reached the legendary rank can bankrupt any race, and that's why even a demon race that had ample resources can only afford to nurture a handful of demons with terrifying talent. 

<br/>That's why the Royal Demon Family controlled these body refinement techniques and bestowed them on their most loyal and talented subjects. 

At least you had to be a Soul Realm Demon to get the lowest level body refinement technique, which only helped with the first nine-star ranks of body refinement and the resources needed for them were also quite achievable, but still hard to find! 

That's why Shadow completely discarded the idea that Ace was from some other race and deemed him a demon from different subspecies because, in her or any demon eyes as a matter-of-factly, no one can refine a body to this kind of level except the demon race! 

However, what made her confused was why didn't Ace resist the detainment or tell those demon guards his 'real identity, because anyone with a legendary body had to be very high ranking within the demon race status quo and quite famous. But she never heard of Ace, nor did his 'subspecies'. 

That's why she asked these questions and wanted to know if he had stumbled upon some old demon inheritance and get the refinement technique and resources to get his body to this stage. 

But Ace does not know what Shadow was talking about, and this made answering her question more difficult for him. He didn't know what a legendary grade-1 represent or about the refinement technique. 

All he knows was that this demon woman was really interested in that refinement technique, and he somehow had made her believe he had one, and all this happened after he 'bathed' in that red liquid! 

'I should probe her actual intentions, first.' Ace didn't dare to speak carelessly and only questioned back impassively, "What has it to do with you?" 

Shadow's eyes only shone with uncertainty. She knew if Ace really possessed a body refinement technique, then he won't tell her and since he already obtained a 'legendary body', he probably exhausted all the materials to reach this stage. 

'How did he end up like this, even with this legendary body?! Why isn't he just announced his achievement and he'll be treated like a 'Demon Duke'? Is this demon slow in his head?' 

Shadow was really perplexed about this point, and she didn't know if this 'demon' was pretending to be an idiot, or he was just messing with Demon Duke Livy!

Because offending a demon with a legendary body was like offending a Demon Duke, who was only below Demon King in status. 

Shadow didn't want to offend this demon with the legendary body. She was just a subordinate under Warden Cane and her subspecies were also different from all these blue skin demons, so they won't hesitate to discard her to save their own skin! 

"Please forgive me. I'll keep your secret." Shadow nodded slightly in understanding toward Ace and with a thought, she untied him. 

Ace was flabbergasted when he heard this demon woman's unexpected words, and she even untied him with a hint of fear and respect in her voice. 

'What the hell is going on?!' Ace did not know what made this demon woman so afraid and what secret she was talking about. 

Nevertheless, he won't let this chance slip by, he just had to pretend now and do his best to not blow his cover, which he was quite good at. 

Ace's face was impassive as he stood up since he had recovered the ability to move. He was completely naked since all his clothes were melted in red liquid and his ripped body was with no scratch. Besides his soul injury, he was completely fine physically.

However, Shadow didn't seem to even faze by Ace's naked body since demons had negligible sex differences here, nor did Ace have any discomfort since she was from a different race and had horns.

"Please wear these prison robes if you want to continue your act!" Shadow handed Ace a black prisoner attire, with a hint of respect in her voice. 

But no one can tell if she was really respectful or just wanted to get on Ace's good side. 

Shadow concluded that Ace was likely here to mess with Duke Livy since it was a normal occasion in Mighty Demon Continent when a demon come challenging a demon for his status. But she can't afford to offend either of them, so, she played it safe. 

'If I can just grasp what makes her so sheepish, it'll be much simpler. It probably had to do something with that legendary grade body which changed her attitude,' Ace mused as he wore that prisoner's attire. 

Although Shadow seemed somewhat submissive right now, he could tell she would not let him escape or help him as a matter of face. If he even slipped a little, he would lose the little bit of hope in escaping from here, and he needed someone from inside, like Shadow, to achieve it. 

Furthermore, Shadow didn't seem to notice his soul injury, and he guessed she was thinking he was faking it for some reason. 

Ace suddenly realized something as he impassively said, "Did you want that refinement technique?" 

He closely observed her emotions when he asked and just as he thought, Ace felt a huge ripple in her soul fluctuation as Shadow's dark eyes show a hint of intense desire when she heard the name 'Refinement Technique'. 

'So, this is really about this technique, heh.' Ace was elated when his blindly fired arrow hit the mark. 

"C-can I?!" Shadow's eyes show some hint of hesitation and uncertainty.

She knew just how precious these techniques were, and only the most important personnel can have Legendary Body refinement technique. She was just a subordinate of a Prison Warden and her subspecies didn't have the potential to reach Soul Realm either, so this body refinement technique was her only passage.   

In fact, any demon in her stead would've been tempted after hearing about a refinement technique of legendary grade, and Shadow was not different from those demons! 

"Yes, I can give it to you, but it's not on me, you can even check my storage ring, as long as you can get me out of this place, I can hand it to you once we reached my 'abode'!" Ace quickly reacted.